Prayers of God’s People as Incense before God

 “Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness Like pillars of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all powders of the merchant?”

‭‭Song of Solomon‬ ‭3‬:‭6‬ ‭KJV

Solomon’s song says, “Who is this one ascending from the wilderness in the pillar of the glory cloud? He is fragrant with the anointing oils of myrrh and frankincense — more fragrant than all the spices of the merchant.”  These spices  were the ingredients of the sacred anointing oil used by the high priest in the temple, as Scripture tells us.  Myrrh points to the suffering and death of Christ, while frankincense reveals the fragrance of His perfect life and ministry.  When the high priest burnt these spices before the ark of the covenant, the Presence of God came down there.  But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for He is the One Who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.    As John the revelator saw in his vision, our prayers are taken by the angel with a gold incense burner who came and stood at the altar, and a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God's people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne.  Today, in the new covenant we are called as priests and our prayers go up to our God as incense.  May our prayers be according to God’s will always.  Amen!

God Makes Believers His Dwelling Place

 “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.it wereso”

‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭2‬ ‭KJV‬‬

John, the beloved disciple recorded what Jesus said, “My Father’s house has many dwelling places. If it were otherwise, I would tell you plainly, because I go to prepare a place for you.”  Jesus says there are many homes and resting places in His Father’s household.  He had mentioned His Father’s house earlier when He had driven the money collectors out of the temple in Jerusalem, as He told the merchants, “Get these things out of here! Don’t you dare commercialize My Father’s house!”  The temple was God’s dwelling place on earth, among His people.  Today, in the new covenant, His dwelling place is the Body of Christ, the Church, and there is ample room for people from every nation and ethnicity and room to spare!  As Paul says so aptly, “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in Whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in Whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”  Every believer is now one of the many dwelling places that make up God’s house.  Let’s believe what Jesus said, “Loving Me empowers you to obey My Word. And My Father will love you so deeply that We will come to you and make you Our dwelling place.”  Amen!

Christ is Our Beloved and We are His

 “Take us the foxes, The little foxes, That spoil the vines: For our vines have tender grapes. My beloved is mine, and I am his: He feedeth among the lilies.”

‭‭Song of Solomon‬ ‭2‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭KJV‬

Solomon’s song says, “You must catch the troubling foxes, those sly little foxes that hinder our relationship. For they raid our budding vineyard of love to ruin what I’ve planted within you. Will you catch them and remove them for me? We will do it together. I know my lover is mine and I have everything in you, for we delight ourselves in each other.” These “foxes” are the compromises that are hidden deep in our hearts.  These are areas of our lives where we have not yet allowed the victory of Christ to shine into.  The foxes keep the fruit of His Spirit from growing within us.  He “feedeth among the lilies” means He takes delight to be a special Friend. That’s what Jesus said just before He was crucified.  “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”  Let’s simply believe Jesus and have a relationship with Him as of our Friend to lead the fruitful life He wants us to so that He delights in us.  Amen!

Our True Inheritance in Christ

 “Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.”

‭‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭7‬ ‭KJV‬‬

As John the beloved disciple recorded, “Jesus replied, “You don’t understand yet the meaning of what I’m doing, but soon it will be clear to you.”  Jesus had asked His disciples to remove their sandals so He would wash their feet.  By removing their sandals and washing their feet, Jesus was showing them that He was granting them a new inheritance - His own.  The sandal is often used in covenants of inheritance in Hebrew culture.  Every defilement would be removed so that they could “place the sole of their feet” upon the new covenant inheritance.  God told Moses to remove his sandals, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”  This was because Moses was about to receive a new inheritance - the holiness of God and the authority that came with it.  God told Joshua, “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.”  After Jesus had washed the disciples feet, and taken His garments, He sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I Am.  If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”  Let’s as believers and disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ know our inheritance and when the world calls us “rice bag Christians”, we should be able to give them the glorious Gospel of their true inheritance in Christ.  Amen!

Let Go and Let God

 “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: For thy love is better than wine.”

‭‭Song of Solomon‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Solomon’s song says, “Let him smother me with kisses—his Spirit-kiss divine. So kind are your caresses, I drink them in like the sweetest wine!”  The name Solomon and Shulamite have the same meaning except that one is masculine and the other is feminine.  Solomon points us to the Perfect King, Jesus Christ.  We, who are born of the Spirit, are one spirit with our King, united with Him.  To enter the door of Jesus’s heart, we begin by saying “let Him”.  We only bring Him a yielded heart and let Him do the rest, for God’s loving grace means that Jesus is enough for us.  We don’t begin by doing, but by yielding.  The Spirit kiss is what made Adam, the man of clay, into the living expression of God.  Dust and Deity met when the Maker kissed His Spirit wind into Adam.  The Word of God is the kiss from the mouth of our Beloved, breathing upon us the revelation of His love.  His love is saving love, keeping love, forgiving love and embracing love.  We are intoxicated with His love as He breathes His Word into us as kisses.  So there are three witnesses in heaven: the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit, and these Three are One.  That’s why we are empowered to be equipped to overcome any situation in our life.  Amen!

Jesus Laid Down His Life for Us

 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭24‬ ‭KJV

John the beloved disciple recorded Jesus’s words, “Let me make this clear: A single grain of wheat will never be more than a single grain of wheat unless it drops into the ground and dies. Because then it sprouts and produces a great harvest of wheat—all because one grain died.”  The “one grain” is Jesus Christ, Who will within days be offered as the Sacrifice for sin on Calvary’s Cross.  He will “drop” into the ground as “a grain of wheat” and bring forth a great “harvest” of “seeds”.  Some non-Jewish seekers requested to see Jesus through Philip and Andrew and Jesus gave this parable in answer.  Jesus was telling His disciples that the non-Jewish will see Jesus through those who follow Him as they too experience the dying and birthing experience.  The harvest among the nations will come when we disciples follow Jesus where He goes. For since we have become one with Him in dying as He did, in the same way we shall be one with Him by being raised to life as He was. We know what real love is from Christ's example in dying for us. And so we also ought to lay down our lives for our Christian brothers.  Amen!

Reverent Awe of Our Majestic Holy God

 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭12‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Solomon ends Ecclesiastes by saying, “That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.”  The fear of the LORD is a deep, reverent awe and wonder toward God.  Rather than terror or dread, it is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit—inspiring profound love, obedience, and a desire to honor God's majesty.  As the psalmist said that the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do His commandments: His praise endures for ever.  When Jesus was despised on the Cross, it was in obedience to His Father so that humanity’s sin was erased altogether through His Blood sacrifice; and then through Christ’s conquering death, the eternal life of God became ours by faith.  Now when Christ comes again, it will be with majesty, splendour, magnificence and glory and all will bow down in the fear of God.  It’s through knowing the fear of the LORD, that we persuade others to this glorious Gospel.  Let’s not take God’s love for granted but worship Him in reverent awe.  Amen!

Jesus, Our Resurrection and Life, Personally and as the Church

 “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”

‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭25‬-‭26‬ ‭KJV‬‬

John the beloved disciple recorded, “Martha,” Jesus said, “You don’t have to wait until then.  I Am the Resurrection, and I Am Life Eternal. Anyone who clings to Me in faith, even though he dies, will live forever. And the one who lives by believing in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”  Jesus is God as His statement clearly says.  Resurrection is superior to life, for life can be defeated and ended.  But resurrection overcomes.  Life is the power to exist, but resurrection is the power to conquer all, even death itself.  We, who believe in Christ, must learn to live in Christ our Life, but also Christ our Resurrection, to conquer all things.  Paul said it so clearly, “And I continually long to know the wonders of Jesus and to experience the overflowing power of His Resurrection working in me. I will be one with Him in His sufferings and become like Him in His death.”  As believers we never die forever!  John recorded as an eye-witness that Jesus is our great Saviour Who saved us from our sins and also from death.  Jesus is our Resurrection and our Life, on a personal level and also as the Church, His Body.  Amen!

Be Generous in Giving

 “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬ ‭KJV‬‬

As Solomon says, “Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you.”  Solomon told thousands of years ago, what many billionaires do today!  Which is to donate generously!  In our times, people will do anything to acquire money because they worship it - mammon is idolised!  To part with money is impossible for such people as everything, every relationship, every communication is transactional based on money.  Jesus said, “Give generously and generous gifts will be given back to you, shaken down to make room for more. Abundant gifts will pour out upon you with such an overflowing measure that it will run over the top! The measurement of your generosity becomes the measurement of your return.”  Giving generously delivers us not only from the love of money but also from covetousness.  Jesus is so clear when He says, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”    Those who persist in covetousness, and the love of money and cowardliness will have a sad end.  But as for the cowards and the ignoble and the contemptible and the cravenly, lacking in courage and the cowardly submissive, and as for the unbelieving and faithless, and as for the depraved and defiled with abominations, and as for murderers and the lewd and adulterous and the practicers of magic arts and the idolaters (those who give supreme devotion to anyone or anything other than God) and all liars (those who knowingly convey untruth by word or deed)–all of these shall have their part in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone. This is the second death.  Let’s learn to do things in God’s way by being generous, not only with money, but with kindness, mercy and love.  Amen!

True Children of God in Christ by Faith

 “This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.”

‭‭John‬ ‭10‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

John the beloved disciple says, “Jesus told the Pharisees this parable even though they didn’t understand a word of what He meant. So Jesus went over it again, “I speak to you eternal truth: I am the Gate for the flock. All those who broke in before Me are thieves who came to steal, but the sheep never listened to them.”  The hearers didn’t understand the allegory of the old covenant law that the sheepfold had become their religion, like a pen that confined the people.  Christ is the Gate that not only allowed everyone in, but He let them out into the new covenant, to enjoy all the riches of the pasture.  The Holy Spirit is the Gatekeeper.  The false prophets and the Pharisees are the thieves and robbers.  All this happened after Jesus healed the blind man who was cast out of the “sheep pen” but accepted in Christ.  Jesus is the Shepherd, the Gate and the pasture.  As the Gate, He brings us to the Father and His Kingdom; as a Shepherd He cares for us and shows us His loving heart.  Until the revelation of faith for salvation was released, the law was a jailer, holding us as prisoners under lock and key until the “faith,” which was destined to be revealed, would set us free. The law was our guardian until Christ came so that we would be saved by faith. But now that faith has come we are no longer under the guardianship of the law. So now we have become true children of God by faith in Jesus Christ!  Amen!